Many were surprised by Netflix’s decision to give Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” a wide theatrical rollout—a whopping 49-day exclusivity in theaters—on February 12, 2027, which happens to be Super Bowl weekend, when most Americans stay home or go to parties and tailgates—the last thing on their minds is going to the movies. That’s why there was no big movie opening that weekend, until “Narnia” came in.
That said, let’s just celebrate the fact that Netflix finally budged, stopped worrying, and potentially learned to embrace the moviegoing experience. Hopefully, this isn’t a one-time deal, and maybe even David Fincher’s “Cliff Booth” could get the same roll-out, red-carpet treatment—although I remain skeptical. Fincher isn’t like Gerwig, who reportedly threatened to exit her “Narnia” deal with Netflix unless her film got a robust theatrical release.
Now, here’s The Town podcast’s Matt Belloni, who is reporting that he’s heard Gerwig’s “Narnia” might be “the most expensive movie Netflix has ever made.” It’s not like the streamer doesn’t spend an inordinate amount of money on some of its titles—every year you’ll see a couple of $150–200M productions, most of them skipping theaters entirely—but ‘Narnia’ goes beyond that.
Here’s where we might decipher what the actual number is. Currently, the most expensive movies Netflix has ever produced are “The Electric State,” which cost a mind-boggling $320M, “The Irishman” at $225M, and “Red Notice” and “The Gray Man,” both of which cost $200M.
If we’re to believe Belloni—and there’s really no reason not to—‘Narnia’ cost north of $320M to produce. An insane amount of money. No wonder Netflix wants to get some of it back via ticket receipts. I know Ted Sarandos keeps saying theatrical is not the streamer’s “model,” but at some point, when spending this kind of cash on a single film, you’d like to get some return on that investment.
‘Narnia’ is aiming for a PG rating, will feature heavy VFX, and showcase lavish post-war 1950s locations—the latter notably different from the Victorian London setting of C.S. Lewis’ novel. Instead, it appears Gerwig has shifted the story to the mid-20th century. Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt composed the score, and Seamus McGarvey (“The Avengers,” “Atonement”) is the DP.
The film stars young performers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell—while Meryl Streep, Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, Ciarán Hinds, and Carey Mulligan round out the ensemble.